Better MPG with pure gas.

[MRtv]

Originally Posted by BigCahuna
Other things to try is, pumping up your tire to the max pressure on the sidewalls, checking your brakes to make sure there not dragging and are releasing quickly. Take out any unnecessary weight out of the truck. Check the alignment, and make sure your air filter is new. If all of that is good, that's about as good as it will ever be.,,


I inflate my tires to 2 pounds over sidewall specs. It has worked out for me very well. No odd tire wear.

 

[jhellwig]

My work truck used to get better mileage with e10. I haven't kept track lately to see if that is still the case

 

[y_p_w]

Originally Posted by JohnG
There should be no difference in summer/winter grade gasoline. For summer blend, butane is removed from the mix and stored in caves or tanks to lower the rvp, in the winter it is put back in.

Anyone seeing lower fuel economy in winter is probably due to other factors. These can be more idle time, thicker fluids, and possibly less complete evaporation while the engine is still cold.

There's normal variation in the energy content of gasoline. It's not necessarily anything that the refinery has fine-tuned control over.

 

[kschachn]

Originally Posted by y_p_w
There's normal variation in the energy content of gasoline. It's not necessarily anything that the refinery has fine-tuned control over.

Yep, I once linked an article that showed it was typically somewhere around 4% even at the same gas station. This is one of the reasons why claims of a relatively small fuel economy difference due to an additive or brand is meaningless (such as the 0.5 mpg claim above).

 

[red7404]

with my 2016 frontier 4.0. it gets 18- 20 mpg with straight gasoline. which is 3-4 mpg more than with alcohol. high way driving 80% of my driving.

 

[dave1251]

Originally Posted by WobblyElvis
The energy content of %10 ethanol gas is roughly %96.5 that of straight gas. This difference should be seen in fuel consumption but it's rather small.



Yes and in testing often E-10 is closer to E-3 to E-7. So to me the outlandish claims of 10-30% of better MPG is not only not possible is doesn't happen just due to gas.

 

[Revving2Redline]

Get over 40 MPG...Still with non ethanol fuel. Car got 39 mpg from factory. Its nice to have a fuel that doesnt need stabilization,can be used in ope, has less VOC's,weighs less, and doesnt foul out sensors. Not to mention is corrosive,hydroscopic and hard on piston rings. I'm already in the process of getting familiar on straining ethanol from 5 gallon metal buckets. Its funny that all cars are tested for economy using pure gas. Imagine a car showroom full of cars full on ethanol sitting long period of time.

 

[y_p_w]

Originally Posted by Marco620
Get over 40 MPG...Still with non ethanol fuel. Car got 39 mpg from factory. Its nice to have a fuel that doesnt need stabilization,can be used in ope, has less VOC's,weighs less, and doesnt foul out sensors. Not to mention is corrosive,hydroscopic and hard on piston rings. I'm already in the process of getting familiar on straining ethanol from 5 gallon metal buckets. Its funny that all cars are tested for economy using pure gas. Imagine a car showroom full of cars full on ethanol sitting long period of time.

While the fuels used in testing doesn't contain ethanol or any other oxygenate, the actual estimate numbers on the sticker are reduced 10% to account for the use of oxygenated fuel, wind, and hills that aren't present in the indoor testing conditions. It's on page 3 of this Q&A.

https://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyPURL.cgi?Dockey=P100IENB.TXT

Ethanol is fine in a modern car with a sealed tank that's contains fuel vapor and not air. I remember my wife's car had a transmission problem and sat in our garage for about 8 months with half a tank and barely any use. There was no problem with the fuel or engine at all. Once the transmission was replaced there were absolutely no issues with the engine.

 

[dave1251]

Originally Posted by Marco620
Get over 40 MPG...Still with non ethanol fuel. Car got 39 mpg from factory. Its nice to have a fuel that doesnt need stabilization,can be used in ope, has less VOC's,weighs less, and doesnt foul out sensors. Not to mention is corrosive,hydroscopic and hard on piston rings. I'm already in the process of getting familiar on straining ethanol from 5 gallon metal buckets. Its funny that all cars are tested for economy using pure gas. Imagine a car showroom full of cars full on ethanol sitting long period of time.

Sure bud. I have beach front property here in Arizona for sale. It's a steal.

 

[Spector]

I can get 87 octane 100% gas and have been using it a few years now. I get 2-3 mpg higher on the econobox Elantra and maybe 3-4 more on the Hybrid Lincoln. For me it is about a breakeven though as the cost for the 100% is 40 cents a gal higher so no cost savings but I believe the engines stay cleaner and run better but again, cannot prove any of that.

 

[kstanf150]

Pure gas is worth 4-6 % increase mpg

 

[Sayonara_Sonata]

I ne'er can vouch for accuracy, yet ye auld MPG gauge shows 4mpg dif in 93 E-free Vs 93E. I figure, figuratively, she's closer to three.

 

[GatorJ]

I have an 09 Ford Escape Hybrid. With the vehicle's hybrid information screen, it is very easy to monitor changes in MPG. 10% ethanol gas causes a 2 MPG hit.

 

[Jetronic]

my honda accord gets better mileage in the warmer weather ..summer gas maybe ?? I would say at least 2-3 miles a gallon which isn't a tremendous amount but I'll take it

Warmer weather = lower air density for a given pressure. That means less drag. To compensate for the lower oxygen your throttle opens a bit further meaning less throttle losses for the same power output.

So you need to make less power, and it's more efficient to make that power. Flip side is that your engine might not get all the timing advance it wants if it gets really hot, and you are running the AC more. So not everybody will see an increase in economy.

 

[wemay]

My Tahoe gets ~0.5 mpg better on ethanol free gas, but e-free is about $.70-.80 more per gallon so it's not worth it.

This

But a little less of a difference since Wawa is the closest e-free but not Top Tier. It's 89 oct and $2.55. Regular Too Tier 87 elsewhere is $2.09. But like oil, if some believe e-free is "better" for your car, the most overused saying comes up (mostly with oil choice)... "gas is cheap/engines are not"

 

[AJB0009]

There should be no difference in summer/winter grade gasoline. For summer blend, butane is removed from the mix and stored in caves or tanks to lower the rvp, in the winter it is put back in.

Anyone seeing lower fuel economy in winter is probably due to other factors. These can be more idle time, thicker fluids, and possibly less complete evaporation while the engine is still cold.

I believe that this is all true. Also, when the air is colder, the oxygen content is higher. So, your computer has to pump more fuel in to maintain the 14.7 air/fuel ratio.

 

[kschachn]

I believe that this is all true. Also, when the air is colder, the oxygen content is higher. So, your computer has to pump more fuel in to maintain the 14.7 air/fuel ratio.

On a percentage basis?

 

[Pew]

I believe that this is all true. Also, when the air is colder, the oxygen content is higher. So, your computer has to pump more fuel in to maintain the 14.7 air/fuel ratio.

Colder air is denser* but oxygen content remains the same.

 

[gregk24]

my honda accord gets better mileage in the warmer weather ..summer gas maybe ?? I would say at least 2-3 miles a gallon which isn't a tremendous amount but I'll take it

Of more significance IMO is a quicker warm up period in the summer vs. winter.

 

[AJB0009]

On a percentage basis?

Please forgive me if I have misspoken on the technicalities of the science. I am not a scientist.
Here is what I do know:
I spent many years wrenching on/riding/racing snowmobiles way back when in northern WI and MN. Two stroke engines with carburetors. If it was real cold (-20F, -30F, etc.) and you were going to run it hard, you would have to put the next larger main jet size in the carb, or it would lean out so bad that it could burn a hole in the top of the piston. Seen it happen more than once. Inversely, if you were running on a warm spring day, it would run like a dog unless you stepped down to a smaller main jet size.
Lastly, when fuel injected vehicles started becoming main stream in the early and mid 80's, it was common on those very cold mornings to have them flood out when trying to start. Unless it fired off right away when you started cranking, often it would have to get towed to a garage where they would pull the spark plugs (which would be wet fouled with excess fuel), clean the gas out of the cylinders, change the oil (which would have a lot of gas in it) and put new spark plugs in. The computer was trying to compensate for the cold air (with "dense" oxygen levels, or whatever...) by pumping in a ton of fuel.